PLAYER GRADES: Philadelphia 76ers 116, Detroit Pistons 102
It was the fourth time the Philadelphia 76ers and Detroit Pistons have met in this young season but for the second time in a row, one of the teams was missing a key player.
The Philadelphia 76ers have now played about one-seventh of its schedule this year against the Detroit Pistons.
In a battle of depleted teams, the Sixers ‘Un-Korked’ a 116-102 victory over the Pistons. The 76ers are now 19-9 on the season and an NBA-best 14-1 at home. Detroit (13-12) lost its fifth game in a row.
Detroit, playing its third game in four days, came in shorthanded as it was announced that forward and noted Sixers-killer Blake Griffin, who has averaged 39.7 points against them this year, was resting and they were already missing three rotation players (Ish Smith, Stanley Johnson and Reggie Bullock) due to injury.
The Sixers were quickly not exactly at full strength themselves as Jimmy Butler suffered a groin injury in the second period and only played nine minutes.
Stepping in for Butler, at least offensively, was Furkan Korkmaz.
Seemingly perpetually in coach Brett Brown’s doghouse, the No. 26 pick in the 2016 draft had played a total of 11 minutes in the Sixers’ previous two games. His lack of playing time had bewildered many fans.
With Brown forced to play him due to Butler’s injury, Korkmaz scored a career-high 18 points and also contributed with some fine passing and even hit the boards pretty well with seven rebounds.
With Korkmaz leading the way, the Sixers pulled away in the fourth quarter and held as much as a 21-point lead.
B. <strong>33 mins | 24 pts | 8 reb | 3 ast | 2 stl | 2 blk | 3 TO | 6-16 FG | 1-4 3PT| 11-14 FT | 3 PF | +30|</strong><p>Everyone thought Embiid would come out breathing fire after sitting out the previous game on Friday with Detroit. That did not quite happen, as he actually had a slow start and played most of the first quarter on the perimeter, where he said he did not want to be. However, he got his game going enough to allow the Sixers’ shooters to get free and he played much better on the defensive end than he had lately.</p>. C. Philadelphia 76ers. JOEL EMBIID
A. <strong>28 mins | 14 pts | 4 reb | 6 ast | 2 stl | 0 blk | 2 TO | 5-10 FG | 2-3 3PT| 2-2 FT | 4 PF | +2</strong><p>McConnell is not known for offense but he provided some offensive punch in this game. He had a couple of big three-pointers when the Sixers offense was flailing and he cut down on his turnovers, which had been a problem recently. Would have received an A+ but got burned a couple times defensively.</p>. G. Philadelphia 76ers. T.J. MCCONNELL
Philadelphia 76ers. FURKAN KORKMAZ. A+. <strong>26 mins | 18 pts | 7 reb | 1 ast | 1 stl | 0 blk | 0 TO | 7-12 FG | 4-7 3PT| 0-0 FT | 2 PF | +6</strong><p>With Butler out, someone had to fill the void on offense. That someone was Korkmaz. Yes, he shot well from outside, as expected, but he also got buckets on dunks and offensive rebounds. He continued his streak of never being a minus (in plus/minus category) in any game he has played more than 15 minutes in this season. Oh, and he is just 21 years old and an unrestricted free agent thanks to the Sixers declining his option for next year.</p>. G
J.J. REDICK. C. <strong>32 mins | 13 pts | 2 reb | 2 ast | 0 stl | 0 blk | 1 TO | 3-12 FG | 2-7 3PT| 5-5 FT | 1 PF | +9</strong><p>It was a rough shooting night for Redick but he made shots when it counted. He hit a three-pointer in the fourth quarter to give the Sixers a 21-point lead. He also made a point of passing the ball inside to Embiid in their familiar two-man game, helping him get out of his offensive funk. He also had a really nice swatting block on the defensive end</p>. G. Philadelphia 76ers
A-. <strong>30 mins | 18 pts | 10 reb | 7 ast | 2 stl | 1 blk | 2 TO | 8-11 FG | 0-0 3PT| 2-9 FT | 0 PF | +21</strong><p>Simmons started the game like a house afire. He was 5-for-5 for 11 points in the first quarter. No one on the PIstons could handle him as he either overpowered or out-quickened his defenders. Strangely, he did not seek his shot more when Butler had to leave as he only took six shots in the final three periods but other players began heating up. The only real blemish was a poor performance from the foul line.</p>. PG. Philadelphia 76ers. BEN SIMMONS
The Sixers have gotten this year into a nasty habit of letting an unknown player have the game of his life against them. This time it was guard Luke Kennard, who scored a career-high 28 points.
One must give credit to Detroit for hanging in there for a long time despite a decimated roster. Several times they cut the deficit to three points in the second half but then the SIxers would always respond.
Should Sixers partner with Lakers, Suns in 3-team trade?. dark. Next
Next up is a Brooklyn Nets team on Wednesday who have given the 76ers a lot of trouble so far.